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Fri, 14 Sep 2018 03:42:52 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.1https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/cropped-wild-hope-logo-large-32x32.pngWild Hope Homeschoolhttps://www.wildhopehomeschool.com
32321473945664 Cozy Fall Diffuser Blends for Learninghttps://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/fall-diffuser-blends/
https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/fall-diffuser-blends/#respondFri, 14 Sep 2018 02:45:07 +0000https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/?p=447I can’t possibly be the only one wishing Fall wasn’t this tiny season between sweltering summer and frigid winter. Occasionally we will have a Fall that lasts a full 3 months, but most of the time it seems we are half way through and there’s already been a blizzard, or we haven’t even left summer […]]]>

I can’t possibly be the only one wishing Fall wasn’t this tiny season between sweltering summer and frigid winter. Occasionally we will have a Fall that lasts a full 3 months, but most of the time it seems we are half way through and there’s already been a blizzard, or we haven’t even left summer weather behind yet. Despite the warm, muggy weather that’s still brewing outside, inside I’m starting to switch out our summer decor and have been looking for some fall scents to start seasoning the air.

Since it is also back-to-school time for most of us, I decided to find some essential oil diffuser blends that would bring on the scents of Fall, while also helping us all to settle back into our school routines. We also do a bit of a Fall Clean and purge around here, so I’ve included a Fall-ish cleaning blend at the end.

The best essential oils for back-to-school time are Lavender, Sweet Orange, and Vetiver, which are all Kid Safe, as well as helping keep kids calm and focused. You’ll see these oils in all of the blends, along with the spicy and woodsy scents that signal Fall.

Restful Afternoons

Autumn Deep Clean

New to Essential Oils?

I will soon have more info about essential oils and my own thoughts and practices on them under the ‘Essential Oils for Skeptics’ page at the top. Check back soon!

{Short answer is: Always dilute and use as intended!}

Check out my favorite starter kit here, containing 14 oils (7 singles, 7 blends) that will cover almost all of your needs for a low price (but Pure and GCMS tested!). I’ve recommended or gifted this exact set to a number of people and it seems to always be a winner. It doesn’t contain the Nutmeg, Vetiver, or Cedarwood, but those can be added to your stash later if you are just starting out, or you can buy them in smaller bottles to keep costs down now.

*Cinnamon EO can be unsafe with kids, so I never use it topically in blends on their skin. I do use it in some diffuser blends since I have no babies in the house right now, and only diffuse for 20 minutes at a time, but USE YOUR DISCRETION with regards to using Cinnamon Essential Oils around children.

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]]>https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/fall-diffuser-blends/feed/0447Mensa Excellence in Reading K-3 List by Lexilehttps://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/mensa-excellence-lexile/
https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/mensa-excellence-lexile/#respondThu, 30 Aug 2018 15:47:42 +0000https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/?p=424If you’ve never heard about it before, the Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading program can be an easy way to motivate kids to read while enriching them with carefully selected Living Books. They’ll be reading books like Blueberries for Sal, Madeline, Little House on the Prairie, Sarah, Plain and Tall, and Anansi the Spider, […]]]>

If you’ve never heard about it before, the Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading program can be an easy way to motivate kids to read while enriching them with carefully selected Living Books. They’ll be reading books like Blueberries for Sal, Madeline, Little House on the Prairie, Sarah, Plain and Tall, and Anansi the Spider, and earning a free t-shirt and certificate while doing so. You can print find the original PDF of the list here, so you can fill it in as they finish each book.

Also important to know (although I’m not telling my kids yet!) is that the list doesn’t have to be read independently by the student. You can read all of these books aloud to them, or they can listen to them via audiobook, and they still get the certificate and t-shirt from Mensa for Kids. {The books with a (*) after the Lexile number are books that are recommended to be Adult Directed for one reason or another, so those may be the ones you could do as a read aloud!}

As you’ll notice on the Mensa form, the books are listed alphabetically, but they range from advanced early readers like Put Me in the Zoo to novels like Rabbit Hill meant for 8-12 year olds. In order to make things a little easier, I’ve looked up what the Lexile score is for all of them and arranged them from lowest Lexile (easiest) to highest. I use the Mensa form for keeping track of what she’s read, but reference my printable {BOTTOM OF POST} when I need to make new suggestions. It is also helpful when wanting to purchase some new books – I can easily see what books she will be reading soon, and which ones I can order at a later date. I’ve included columns to note which books need to be purchsed {or thrifted!} and which books you’ve found through the library or Interlibrary Loan.

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]]>https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/mensa-excellence-lexile/feed/042410 Fabulous Fall Read-Aloudshttps://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/10-fabulous-fall-read-alouds/
https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/10-fabulous-fall-read-alouds/#respondTue, 28 Aug 2018 04:32:14 +0000https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/?p=407Temperatures are occasionally dipping into sweater-weather {I really mean leggings as pants} these days {hurray!}, so we have been pulling out some of our favorite Fall read-alouds. I am sure there are dozens more high-quality picture books and novels that are set {at least partially} in the Fall, but the ones listed below are some […]]]>

Temperatures are occasionally dipping into sweater-weather {I really mean leggings as pants} these days {hurray!}, so we have been pulling out some of our favorite Fall read-alouds. I am sure there are dozens more high-quality picture books and novels that are set {at least partially} in the Fall, but the ones listed below are some of the books that have found their way to our own shelves, and are the ones we return to again and again.

Tops and Bottoms – Just a beautifully illustrated story about overcoming hardships with clever solutions. It’s actually a pretty funny book (especially the illustrations), so my kids will come back to it again and again.

Ox-Cart Man – The story starts with a man going to market in the Fall to sell his family’s creations, and then shows how they use the money they’ve earned to farm for another year and how they make all of the items they sell at the market.

Sharing the Bread – My son loves finding the little boy in all of the pages and seeing how he is helping get Thanksgiving dinner ready, even though his only official job is calling everyone to the table. Best to read later in the fall when Thanksgiving is almost upon us!

The Canada Geese Quilt – A little bit of everything: new babies, grandparents, seasons changing, and finding one’s place in the family. Perfect reading when you’re focusing in on teaching what is most important in the early years.

The Biggest Pumpkin Ever – I passed over this book a few times thinking it wouldn’t have much merit, but it’s actually a great book to have on hand when kids are squabbling. Reinforces that we can do more together!

Little House in the Big Woods – Technically this book covers multiple seasons, so you could read it slowly over the course of fall and winter and it would match up with the seasons the family is experiencing. We love reading the descriptions of how they use the Fall season to prepare for the coming Winter. This is also my favorite Little House book for the littlest kids as it describes the girls working together with their mother (my kids know the chores they do each day of the week by heart!), and the respectful way they are taught to respond when asked to help.

Hurry and the Monarch – We raised Monarch Butterflies this summer, so we’ve been very interested in learning how the Fall butterflies fly South to Mexico for the winter. This story is fictional and includes information about when the butterflies return to the North as well! If you have any Childcraft sets lying around, there are also a few volumes in there that have wonderful information and illustrations.

10 Apples Up on Top – Not as fall-ish, but great if you’re already talking about apples! As a bonus, it’s been great as an early reader as well, and it’s very rhythmic like most books in the Dr Seuss series, so kids seem to memorize the words quickly with it. You could even count this one as a math read-aloud too!

Johnny Appleseed – We’ve read a few Johnny Appleseed books, and the ones by Steven Kellogg and Reeve Lindbergh are our favorites. We’ve always sung Johnny Appleseed as grace when camping with friends at Thanksgiving {which is in October here in Canada}, but it’s now our son’s favorite way to say grace anytime of the year!

What are some of your favorite Fall books to read aloud to your kids?

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]]>https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/10-fabulous-fall-read-alouds/feed/04077 Character Building Read Aloud Bookshttps://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/character-building-books/
https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/character-building-books/#respondTue, 28 Aug 2018 01:19:38 +0000https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/?p=409Character can easily be learned through experiences and life lessons, and picking yourself up after failure is an important part of growing, but we don’t ALWAYS want our kids to be learning things the hard way, do we? My kids learn plenty of lessons through the natural consequences that come from their actions, but they’ve […]]]>

Character can easily be learned through experiences and life lessons, and picking yourself up after failure is an important part of growing, but we don’t ALWAYS want our kids to be learning things the hard way, do we? My kids learn plenty of lessons through the natural consequences that come from their actions, but they’ve learned even more lessons through stories, and building character is also an important part of the learning goals we have for our kids’ early years.

Books as Character Studies

Through stories, we’ve seen the cost of behaving selfishly or unkindly, heard the way kids can speak with respect, and witnessed the grace parents, siblings or friends can extend to someone who as messed up. And little by little, I’ve seen my kids {and myself!} put those character lessons into action, sometimes even word-for-word from how they’ve heard something said in a book.

Below are some of the books we’ve read together and found important character building lessons in, some more subtly than others. I think lessons can be found in almost any book we read together {even, and perhaps most especially, the bad ones!}. If someone behaved with kindness, respect, or self-control, point it out; if someone was disrespectful or made poor choices, point it out. Ask how it would have been better to behave.

For each of the books below, I’ve included my favorite quote, so you can decide for yourself if it might be something you’d like to add to your home library. Please comment with your own favorite character building books!

Character Building Books

Remember then that there is only one important time, and that time is now. The most important one is always the one you are with. And the most important thing is to do good for the one who is standing at your side. For these, my dear boy, are the answers to what is most important in this world.

Safe indoors, Katie tucked the sparrow inside a cage that she found in the attic. The frightened bird curled up into a tight, trembling ball. Slowly, tenderly, Katie coaxed it out. Her warm voice began to ease the sparrow’s fears and it gobbled up a morsel of bread from her fingers, hungrily crying out, “More.”

The Sparrow’s Song by Ian Wallace

Beautiful illustrations are just a bonus to the character building stories in many of these books!

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]]>https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/character-building-books/feed/0409Core Phase Priorities & Learning Goals {Ages 0-7/8}https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/core-phase-priorities-learning-goals/
https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/core-phase-priorities-learning-goals/#respondFri, 17 Aug 2018 23:01:01 +0000https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/?p=357We are a TJEd family. Or rather, the educational philosophy we most identify with is Thomas Jefferson Education {Leadership Education}, and it informs much of the WHY, WHEN, and HOW of our homeschool. Charlotte Mason has also been highly influential, especially in the area of WHAT we teach and sometimes the HOW, but right now […]]]>

We are a TJEd family. Or rather, the educational philosophy we most identify with is Thomas Jefferson Education {Leadership Education}, and it informs much of the WHY, WHEN, and HOW of our homeschool. Charlotte Mason has also been highly influential, especially in the area of WHAT we teach and sometimes the HOW, but right now while the kids are all in Core Phase we haven’t ventured into CM academics very much.

I will do a post soon with a {hopefully} brief run through of the TJEd Phases of Learning and the ins and outs of homeschooling this way, but for now, this graphic from the TJEd website explains pretty concisely what we are aiming for in order to cultivate a culture of self-education and love of learning in our home.

Today’s post is specifically about the Core phase of learning and what we as a family have taken to be the priorities and goals of this phase. Both TJEd and Charlotte Mason agree that the first 7 or so years of a child’s life are to be protected from too many outside influences, and that the child should learn through lots of time spent outside, and not from academic pursuits.

“IN THIS TIME OF EXTRAORDINARY PRESSURE, EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL, PERHAPS A MOTHER’S FIRST DUTY TO HER CHILDREN IS TO SECURE FOR THEM A QUIET AND GROWING TIME, A FULL SIX YEARS OF PASSIVE RECEPTIVE LIFE, THE WAKING PART OF IT FOR THE MOST PART SPENT OUT IN THE FRESH AIR.”“…MY OBJECT IS TO SHOW THAT THE CHIEF FUNCTION OF THE CHILD–HIS BUSINESS IN THE WORLD DURING THE FIRST SIX OR SEVEN YEARS OF HIS LIFE–IS TO FIND OUT ALL HE CAN, ABOUT WHATEVER COMES UNDER HIS NOTICE, BY MEANS OF HIS FIVE SENSES…”

Priorities

The priorities we have during Core Phase are simple and completely child-led. My job as mom is to keep our home free from distractions and clutter, model the love of learning I want my children to emulate, and to introduce them to beauty through books, nature, history, and relationships.

Specifically, we prioritize our time with:

Nature Study or Exploration

Read Alouds

Open-ended Play

Open-ended Art

Handicrafts

Learning Goals

Our learning goals are what we would like our children to know, understand, or have mastered by the end of Core Phase. Although as you’ll see from most of this list, core phase is something that we continue to work on and support for the rest of our lives, and the skills here are the basis for a happy life, even in adulthood.

Specifically, by the age of 8, we would like our children to have:

Knowledge of God

Love of Family

Basic self-care

Respect for others

Mastery of fine motor skills

Cooperation

Patience/sharing

Manners

Sharing

Finishing what they start

Understanding Right vs Wrong

Understanding Good vs Bad

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]]>https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/core-phase-priorities-learning-goals/feed/0357Dollar Store Homeschool Supply Haulhttps://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/dollar-store-homeschool-haul/
https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/dollar-store-homeschool-haul/#respondFri, 10 Aug 2018 00:28:57 +0000https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/?p=264The kids and I hit up the Dollar Tree for a little bit of school year prep and I wanted to share some of the items we got. In today’s haul, most of the items were organizing and paper supplies, but I took photos of a bunch of art and teaching supplies you may need […]]]>

The kids and I hit up the Dollar Tree for a little bit of school year prep and I wanted to share some of the items we got. In today’s haul, most of the items were organizing and paper supplies, but I took photos of a bunch of art and teaching supplies you may need as well.

A lot of people avoid the dollar store thinking it is all cheap and poorly made – and some of it is – but my kids can be rough on things still, so if it’s something meant to be consumable anyways, I’d rather save the extra money for books or field trips. If you haven’t been to the dollar store recently though, you may not have noticed how often they also have brand name items there for way less than Walmart. For a while our local Dollar Tree had Annie’s Mac and Cheese for $1.25 a box!

Anyways, here are the useful supplies I found on today’s trip.

Organizing and Planning

The weekly planner can have a multitude of uses. You can use washi tape to cover up the numbers along the side and write in student names, blocks of the day, etc. It’s magnetic and dry erase so you can post it on the fridge and use it over and over.

The student planner is great for older kids who can handle some daily or weekly planning with you and then be independent enough to check those things off on their own. Or it would make a beautiful mama planner too!

Keep those supplies organized! Keeping pencils, markers, erasers, paperclips, stickers, and narrations organized can be a nightmare for a homeschooler, so organizers like these can be a Godsend.

Art/Nature Study

This is the book we use for our nature journals. We do our sketching or painting on watercolor paper and then cut and glue it in this book along with a little write up. We always put it on the right hand side so that the pages don’t get too thick and are easy to turn.

Just a variety of art supplies. Watercolors, pastels, and pencil crayons (specifically the watercolor kind) are some of the best supplies to use when starting out, or you can use an empty palette with the paints you already have on hand at home.

Each of my kids have one of these magnifying glasses. They are pretty heavy duty and have survived quite a few drops and falls.

Teaching Supplies

Clipboards can be used for nature study, chore lists, a hard surface on the couch, or anything else you need.

A blow-up globe is a total fun purchase, but it is also really useful if you don’t have a wall map or globe yet.

Pre-printed and blank word strips for teaching phonics or reinforcing sight words. We like to have a “____’s Wall of Words” for our new reader where we right down a new word each day that they’ve learned.

Miscellaneous

I’m not quite sure where to put this one, but I KNOW it could be useful for homeschooling (so I got one!). It is index cards on a ring, with an elastic to hold them all together.

I wanted to share with you a great use for this rubbery shelf liner. Stabilizing tan-grams or plastic pattern blocks (we have these ones)! My kids hate when their design shifts with the tiniest nudge on the table, so this is sticky enough that nothing shifts but they can slide things around if they want to.

What Did I Get?

I didn’t end up getting every item I showed above, mostly because I have all of those items already, in one form or another. The items I did get are almost all for organizing our supplies, or to stock up on something we are getting low on (chalk marker and graph paper). The blow-up globe was just for fun since we already have a spinning globe, but it will be great for when we are road tripping! As a minimalist homeschool, I try hard not to bring anything into the house we don’t truly need, but we are also seekers of joy. I got the clear plastic organizers (even though I don’t have specific use for them right now) because they could be very useful in organizing the fridge too!

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]]>https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/dollar-store-homeschool-haul/feed/0264Homeschooling on a Budget {25 Tips and Resources}https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/homeschooling-budget/
https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/homeschooling-budget/#respondThu, 09 Aug 2018 06:15:25 +0000https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/?p=225Some of the best advice I’ve ever been given is to not buy any new curriculum for the first 6 months to a year of homeschooling. And I’ll tell your right now it’s tough, but worth it. Take those first months to slowly slip into some gentle learning routines together, start reading aloud more, and […]]]>

Some of the best advice I’ve ever been given is to not buy any new curriculum for the first 6 months to a year of homeschooling. And I’ll tell your right now it’s tough, but worth it. Take those first months to slowly slip into some gentle learning routines together, start reading aloud more, and work on the character and relationships you’ll need to all thrive as life long learners. Once you’ve spent a few months reading and following rabbit trails together, you’ll see the learning styles of your kids and the style or philosophy of yourself as the teacher/mentor, and you’re ready to buy some curriculum. But go slowly! Even if you’re not on a budget it can be easy to pull the trigger on one curriculum and the next month you find something even better!

If you are already itching to get started on some more formal learning, or you’re just here because you need budget homeschooling suggestions, here is my list of 25 great Free or Cheap homeschooling resources. I’ve divided them up into all things free, inexpensive curriculum, and inexpensive supplies.

Enjoy!

Free

Library – I am a firm believer that you can homeschool with just a library card. Even if your local library doesn’t have a great collection, they are always part of a larger library system and you can get other titles through Inter Library Loan. Most libraries also use an app like Overdrive so you can get free access to ebooks and audiobooks from them too!

Free or Cheap Ebooks – Using Amazon and the Kindle app you can have access to thousands of books at extremely reasonable prices or even for free. An additional benefit of Amazon Kindle books is once you have the ebook you can add the audio version on Audible for a steep discount too. Check out my list of free Kindle Classics here. By the way, if you’ve been looking for a tablet, we got a 3-pack of Kindle Fire HD 8s on Prime Day last year for $129; they can be sideloaded with Google Play so that they can download all Android apps! We love them!

Curriculum Sharing – Many Social Studies type curriculum are done on a rotational basis, so you can purchase curriculum together with another local mama and switch back and forth as needed. Alternatively, you can share teaching with a mama friend, playing up to each others strengths and interests!

Easy Peasy Homeschool – Just a simple all-in-one FREE homeschool curriculum covering all grades and subjects. It is not my favorite in terms of scheduling or style, but there are many families who use and love it!

Khan Academy – FREE. We mostly use it for math, but it can be a great place to learn science, coding, history, humanities and more. Apps are available for most platforms.

Focus on Core Phase/Character Development – If you are just starting out or your children are young, who says you need to worry about any curriculum at all? Spend the first while doing a family reset, working on relationships and building the character skills in your children that will make them passionate and independent learners down the road.

Morning Time – As I’ve mentioned in posts before, I think morning time should be your most important time of your day. It is when you pour into your kids everything you think is important or beautiful in the world. It should include your core book (ours is the Bible), memorization, poetry, art or music, reading aloud, and anything else your heart desires. It’s a time for all ages and no forced participation. If you need some help getting started, Pam Barnhill has some great Morning Time Plans, but also has a podcast where she talks about forming your own.

Charlotte Mason-style Nature Study – I mentioned a nature study curriculum above, but you can also just get out there and start exploring. Take some pencils and inexpensive notebooks and start sketching what you see. Collect small items for a nature table, and check out how the trees or plants in your area change as the seasons change. Sit outside while you read aloud.

Inexpensive Curriculum and Resources

Peaceful Press curriculum – All of the curriculum can be used with ages 6 to 12 (except the Preschool one, which is obviously for younger children). We are doing the Playful Pioneers curriculum in our homeschool this year (it is based around the Little House on the Prairie books as a central read aloud. We are also using Peaceful Preschool with the two younger kids as their interest allows.

Math Lessons for a Living Education – A complete, curriculum for only $30 per level, and my kids love hearing the stories. You can even buy it in pdf form and print it yourself at home (good option if you will be moving multiple kids through it, concurrently or one at a time). They have recently released some Language Arts curriculum that might be worth checking out, but we’ve never used them so I can’t say much about them.

Inexpensive Homeschool Supplies

Cheap Printer and Ink – We’ve gone through a few printers around here (it’s always print head issues), so we’ve perfected the printer purchase. Look for ones under $100, with great reviews, and which have the cheapest ink possible! This Canon Printer does everything needed and the ink works out to 73 cents per cartridge. If you can wait, Black Friday usually drops the price even lower!

Buy Books Secondhand – I am always on a budget for books; sometimes it’s just meant I budget less per book so I can get more! I have gotten almost all of our books from thrift stores, library sales, and yard sales. The gaps have been filled in with Amazon books using coupon codes.

Gift Books and Experiences (Field Trips!) for Birthdays and Christmas – The past few years we have moved away from giving toys as gifts, and instead gift our children with new books, board games, or experiences. Sometimes it is big vacations way, but other times it has been season passes to zoos or amusement parks. A set of passes to a Children’s Museum or Science Center would make for an exciting and educational gift!

IKEA – Just google ‘IKEA homeschool room’ or ‘IKEA homeschool’ and you’ll find a treasure trove of ideas for how to use the items you can find at IKEA for organizing and beautifying your homeschool area while still keeping to a budget.

TJEd – Last, but not least! TJEd (short for Thomas Jefferson Education) is a philosophy, not a curriculum, and it is all about developing a love of learning in our children, and helping them get the education “to match their mission”. It is the perfect thing to look into if you want to start creating a home culture of learning while on a budget, or without a lot of financial investment. In fact you’ll learn that the best homeschools look a LOT more like a home than a school.

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]]>https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/homeschooling-budget/feed/02256 toys that encourage creative outdoor playhttps://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/toys-outdoor-play/
https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/toys-outdoor-play/#commentsWed, 01 Aug 2018 16:00:39 +0000https://wildhopehomeschool.com/?p=71After reading Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne we did some major toy purging in our house. We have never been excessive toy buyers and tried to keep to a one in/one out mentality for most things, but the book changed our perspective on the type of toys to keep around. We now shop with […]]]>

After reading Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne we did some major toy purging in our house. We have never been excessive toy buyers and tried to keep to a one in/one out mentality for most things, but the book changed our perspective on the type of toys to keep around. We now shop with a mind for what kind of play will result. A question I have learned to ask myself, that come directly from Simplicity Parenting is:

Does it “do everything,” or can a child change it, manipulate it, dream into it?

We’ve been slowly converting all of our toys over to high quality, open-ended activities that can be used inside or out. The very best ones are the completely open-ended, zero prescribed play toys, but we also have a mix of bigger toys that encourage gross motor skills too. Encouraging our kids to get outside more doesn’t have to be difficult! It’s downright easy if you’ve got the right kinds of toys and activities out there to draw them outside.

I’m a little bit obsessed with these myself. They are light and sheer and have the nicest feel and drape. My kids love using them as capes, skirts, hair, theater curtains, dolly blankets, head scarves, flags, etc. The list is basically endless! They are washable and the quality is very high in the brand we’ve used. I considered ordering blanks from Dharma Trading and making my own, but the cost of shipping them to Canada, plus the learning curve in dying was enough to scare my off (plus I didn’t know if my kids would love them!). If I were to dye my own, I would order enough to have a couple of sets of silks to give away as gifts as they are such a staple toy in our house now.

The only brand we have used so far is Sarah’s silks, which you can find on Amazon or at any eco-parenting store. Still on our wish list is one of the giant 3ft by 9ft scarves in the rainbow pattern, and some of the mini scarf skirts.

We haven’t taken the plunge on this one yet as we are still rocking the $3 yard sale find seen below, but this wooden rocker will be our next big purchase. Beyond the creative aspect (my kids pretend it’s a boat, horse, surf board, or motorcycle) and the cooperative play of rocking together, developing balance and gross motor skills is an AMAZING precursor to all of the fine motor and academic skills they will learn later. The wooden ones can also be turned upside down and used as a bridge (great for with the stumps or Gange River Stones mentioned below!) or parking garage, etc.

Here is the one we will be adding a few of soon! They can even hold my husband and I!

Kids love stepping across or swinging on things and imagining they are making perilous journeys; we are blessed here in the country to have a plethora of stumps, rocks, and fences that the kids can climb, jump or step between, but if we were anywhere else we would be getting some Gange River Stones or Mountains. We may still get some for inside play in the winter, but I’m hoping my husband can cut us some nice stumps of varying heights and widths while he’s cutting firewood for winter.

I waited a while before jumping on this one, mostly because of the creative play country life already affords us. It seemed a waste to have a climber in the middle of the yard when there are trees to climb and paths and adventures to take. But I am so glad we got one! The kids are building some serious muscle while climbing, swinging, and hanging on it, but what I love more is the creative ways I’ve seen them play with it. Throw a blanket over and it makes an amazing fort, or tie on the hammock for a comfy place to rock and read.

It’s another one that I kind of wish we could have inside over the winter (largely because I’m afraid of them sticking their tongues on it outside during the winter!), but I’m looking forward to seeing how they include it in their snow play in just a few short months. We bought the Lifetime Geometric Dome Climber from Costco, but if you’re not a member, here is the same one on Amazon.

I’m not sure if you’ve ever tried to go on a walk somewhere while the kids are riding their bikes, but it can be a bit of a headache. They can go so much faster biking than I can walking, and I’m constantly yelling ahead about roads or cars backing out of driveways. When some of us are walking or we are going on sidewalks or busy spaces, scooters can be a lifesaver. No one is asking to be carried, but the kids are never getting too far ahead. They are also great for just riding around the driveway or the sidewalks in front of the house. Most can fold and tuck in under a stroller if you’re heading inside somewhere.

On top of all of this, scooters can help develop better balance in your kids, and build their confidence before tackling something like a skateboard.

I don’t know what it is about little teepees that is so appealing to me. We tend to make our own out of sticks and sheets (and you totally can too!), or we have had a few little play tents along the way. These make great outdoor reading areas, or a place to play with small toys. My kids usually resort to playing house in them though, and inviting each other over to their respective tents for tea.

If your kids are all still little, you can start small with a storebought tee pee like this 6ft one on Amazon. If your kids are older though, it is definitely a better idea to have them hunting for long and strong downed branches on nature walks, and making your own with some old sheets.

Bonus: Make a Mud Kitchen!

I know this one sounds a little scary, but hear me out. I put off intentionally letting my kids play with mud for a long time because of the mess I knew I’d be cleaning up later, but I’m majorly regretting it now.

A mud kitchen is as basic as it sounds. Put some little tables, old pots and pans, and maybe an OLD sink or play kitchen somewhere on your property where it is easy to make some mud. And then let the kids be creative! You’ll be surprised how long they will play making mud food, serving each other, and doing other kitchen tasks. And you can hose it all down (and them!) when it’s all done if you want.

Warning: SOME OF YOUR KIDS MIGHT HATE THIS ONE. I’m just putting it out there so you’re not surprised, but those kids who hate having dirty hands will probably not enjoy this kind of creative play. That’s ok! Find something that works for them.

Affiliate Disclosure: In compliance with the FTC guidelines, please assume that any/all links on this website are affiliate links of which Wild Hope Homeschool receives a small commission from sales of certain items, but the price is the same for you.

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]]>https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/toys-outdoor-play/feed/271Why I Stopped Choosing a Word of the Yearhttps://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/word-season/
https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/word-season/#respondWed, 01 Aug 2018 01:13:34 +0000https://wildhopehomeschool.com/?p=145I’ve never been very successful with the whole “word of the year” thing. Sure I’ve tried a few times, but, without exception, at some point in the year the word I chose stops being the thing I really need to focus on. Has that ever happened to you? So, I’ve decided that I am going […]]]>

I’ve never been very successful with the whole “word of the year” thing. Sure I’ve tried a few times, but, without exception, at some point in the year the word I chose stops being the thing I really need to focus on. Has that ever happened to you?

So, I’ve decided that I am going to start choosing a new word whenever I need it. To reflect the phase or season of life that I am in, the ages and needs of my people, and the state of my own heart. Sometimes, the amount of time I need to focus on a principle or words is only a few weeks or months, but other times it may be a year or more. Feeling that I can be flexible and change my focus as need be (instead of trying to redefine how my Word of the Year applies to a changing life) works extremely well for my personality, and also for this Homeschool life.

Mercifully, my children don’t seem to all struggle with hard things all at once; the downside of this is that as soon as I think we’ve got one child back on track emotionally (because it’s always a heart issue), another one seems to enter a new phase where they need extra guidance. Since we are mostly TJEd and all of my kids are under 8 (Core Phase), the things we are focusing on right now in our homeschool is mostly character and work ethic development. All of these things can be trying, as can being home together all day. They mean that I am constantly challenged to work on my own issues and weaknesses.

My Word

My word/focus/weakness for RIGHT NOW is:

Gentleness

Gentleness in the way I speak to my family, how my body reacts to and receives them, and in how I treat myself.

Practically speaking, this is what a focus on gentleness means for my life right now:

a commitment to not yelling

a greater effort to see things from their point of view and being empathetic

building tools for managing anger so that I can actually do the above when behaviours or situations arise

attempting to to temper the sarcastic or teasing way I can sometimes interact with my husband

embracing and loving who i am right now, even if I’m also attempting to better myself

Have you ever chosen a word for the year? Was it something you were able to focus on all year?

Why not, right now in the middle of the year, pick a word that symbolizes what you need to focus on right now? Let me know how it goes!

]]>https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/word-season/feed/01454 Must Reads for the Beginner Homeschoolerhttps://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/beginner-books/
https://www.wildhopehomeschool.com/beginner-books/#respondSun, 22 Jul 2018 20:59:20 +0000https://wildhopehomeschool.com/?p=85 Just beginning homeschooling? If you’re just getting started in homeschooling it can be overwhelming how many options there are in terms of educational philosophy and curriculum. Figuring out what kind of homeschooler you are and how you view childhood will help make all of the other choices easy. You can find a great homeschool style […]]]>

Just beginning homeschooling?

If you’re just getting started in homeschooling it can be overwhelming how many options there are in terms of educational philosophy and curriculum. Figuring out what kind of homeschooler you are and how you view childhood will help make all of the other choices easy. You can find a great homeschool style quiz at Homeschool On if you need it.

Try a Detox

If you are taking your children out of public school, spend the first few months detoxing from the routines, attitudes, and pace of public school. Avoid buying any curriculum for the first 6 months or year and try some of the free curriculum that is available. Board games can also provide a gentle introduction to learning while staying away from academics for the first while.

The purpose of a detox is to redirect your attitudes towards school (especially if you have kid who have had a bad experience). It will allow you to build a homeschool that is centred around your home culture and lifestyle, not the other way around. The best homeschools look more like home than school. Charlotte Mason said that “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life” and the books below will help you craft that. Spending the months of your family detox doing your own reading and learning will give you the best start! You’ll find out what you love, how you want your home to be, and you’ll model to your children what real learning looks like.

Why these books for the beginner?

I’ll talk more another time about doing a family detox, so lets move on now to the books! These books were specifically chosen to show you three things:

An introduction to Charlotte Masons educational philosophies, practical information about what it looks like day to day, and a lovely view of family life. This was one of my early reads as a beginner homeschooler and it shaped the way I saw our home and my role as mother/teacher. As a result, we put off academics until 6 or 7 and have different {read: non-academic} priorities and learning goals for the early years.

The tag line “why parents need to matter more than peers” says it all. Kids in school can become overly peer-oriented, so learn through the studies in this book how that can negatively affect them for life. More importantly, as a beginner homeschooler you can make sure your kids have the best start, and answer the endless “but what about their socialization” questions.

If you’ve never read the Read Aloud Revival blog or heard the podcast (both recommended!), this is a great place to start learning about reading aloud. Find out when to add it, how things change with teens or toddlers, and why it matters. The beginner homeschooler will learn about the best part of any homeschool.

The best book for the beginner homeschooler. See your kids in a whole different light, learn how modern industrial school goes astray, and begin the first steps to achieving your own truly great education. TJEd has been the philosophy I come back to again and again as they share the same love of living books as Charlotte Mason, give early childhood the same respect as Unschooling, and give students the opportunity to truly own their education and make it great (and personalized!).

Bonus!

If you’d like to start including some nature study in your homeschool right away, I love to recommend Pocketful of Pinecones* by Karen Andreola. Sharing Charlotte Mason’s love of nature study and gentle learning in a story way, this book leads you through introducing nature study to your children to having a home that fully incorporates the love of nature and learning that Charlotte Mason encouraged.

Wanting to start homeschooling on a budget?

Get these books from the library! When I first started I had to get quite a few of my books through Inter-Library Loan as I didn’t have the money to be purchasing lots of books and my local library had very few homeschooling books.

Check out my post Homeschooling on a Budget for tips and links to all sorts of frugal homeschooling resources for the beginner homeschooler.

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*Affiliate Disclosure: In compliance with the FTC guidelines, please assume the following about all links, posts, photos and other material on this website: Any/all of the links on this website are affiliate links of which Wild Hope Homeschool receives a small commission from sales of certain items, but the price is the same for you.